The present embodiments relate to medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging. In particular, gray scale mapping is provided for ultrasound imaging.
Displays have a dynamic range. For example, a color liquid crystal display provides for 6 bit red, 6 bit green, and 6 bit blue ranges. For displaying gray scale (monochrome) information, the red, green and blue (RGB) values are set equal, providing a dynamic range of 64 increments or gray levels. However, the ultrasound information may have greater dynamic range, such as 8 bit B-mode or tissue values. The ultrasound image contains more grayscale information than can be shown on the screen. The extra information is discarded for display. However, loss of dynamic range is not generally desired.
Tint maps or photopic imaging may increase the dynamic range. The highest and/or lowest values are mapped to different tints, such as blue. The display associated with these values have noticeable or visible coloration at one end of the scale, so may not be desirable.